It's here again already. My second favorite holiday after Christmas, the Fourth of July was always a big deal in our family. Maybe it was because it falls six months after we last got together. Maybe it's because everyone enjoys long leisurely summer afternoons that stretch into evening while knowing you have the next day off. Or it could have even been knowing that my aunt never failed to bring her famous Jell-O cake to the get together.

Whatever the reason, I've always looked forward to the Fourth of July and usually have plans to celebrate long before the big day arrives. Even both of the Fourth's I've spent abroad included celebrating.

So this year when I found the holiday rapidly approaching and I had no plans, I was feeling a bit sad. I didn't really have concrete plans for enjoying the holiday in the city and had no plans to take advantage of the long weekend by leaving the city. But it turned out to be a busy weekend.

Friday night three of my friends and I ventured out to Coney Island. Every Friday night throughout the summer they have fireworks on the beach. We arrived around 6:30 and spent some time walking the boardwalk while waiting for the sun to set. Coney Island was packed and we passed some time people watching as we made our way up to Brighton Beach. The sun was beginning to set and we grabbed a table at a Russian restaurant on the boardwalk. We ordered dumplings and borscht as it got dark. Soon the fireworks began and we could even see the shows in Jersey and Staten Island off in the distance.



Saturday I spent the day in Harlem before returning to meet friends in the city for a night of dancing. The holiday weekend meant the city was pretty empty and we were lucky enough to be some of the first people in the club, which meant we got a table for the night :)

Sunday we spent the day in Central Park. It was beginning to heat up and we decided that we didn't want to spend hours waiting in Manhattan for fireworks and decided to take the Path to Hoboken. We arrived in Jersey with just enough time for dinner before heading to the waterfront where we got second row seats to the show. The fireworks were spectacular and watching them with Manhattan as the backdrop was even better.

Monday we finally got out of the city. The three of us took the Metro North about an hour and a half up the Hudson to a small town called Beacon. It was ridiculously hot and we spent a few hours staying cool in the DIA:Beacon, an interesting contemporary art museum.

So while my weekend was anything but traditional, it was still fun.